Dispenser for dental alloys and mercury



April 14, 1964 Filed Nov. 4, 1960 D. WEINER DISPENSER FOR DENTAL. ALLOYS AND MERCURY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

4 VID WIENER B Z M ATTO RN EY A ril 14, 1964 D. WEINER DISPENSER FOR DENTAL. ALLOYS AND MERCURY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 4, 1960 INVENTOR. 21D WI NER s' ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,128,907 DISPENSER FOR DENTAL ALLOYS AND MERCURY David Weiner, 2102 Napfie Ave, Philadeiphia, Pa. Filed Nov. 4, 1960, Ser. No. 67,269 3 Claims. (Cl. 221--96) The object of the present invention is to improve upon the dispenser subject of my application for patent, filed April 25, 1960, Serial No. 24,371, now Patent No. 3,040,- 934, in that improve-d control is provided for the volume of mercury for each dispensing action, and the use of dental alloy stacks of different thicknesses, representing various grains in volume, is enabled. A reservoir for mercury is provided.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a composite perspective view showing an embodiment of the invention, the tablet stack carrier and cover having been moved away from the major body member, the cover member being partly broken away;

FIG. 2 is a view in front elevation, partly broken away, illustrating the control for tablet sizes;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the structure;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged view in vertical section, generally on the line 4-4, FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view showing elements of the mercury dispensing volume control, looking upward on the line 5-5, FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the position of the mercury and tablet control members when the dispensing plunger has been moved inwardly.

The device consists of primary body member 1 which may be a single molded body of plastic material, if desired. Rising from the rear of the body member is a container section 2 having inlet openings at 3 and 4 for mercury, the openings leading to a dispensing chamber 5 and a reservoir chamber 6, the two chambers being partly divided by a wall 7, which does not shut off communication between the chambers at the top thereof. Thus if the mercury in dispensing chamber 5 is depleted, the entire structure can be tilted to cause the mercury to run over the wall 7 into the dispensing chamber for renewed supply.

The upper face of body member 1 is incut at its sides to provide a slideway for the bottom plate 7x of a stack holder 8 formed with a plurality of vertical chambers for dental alloy tablets. By means of springy handle 9 the stack holder may be moved in such manner that each stack is brought into register with a tablet receiving aperture at 10 in the dispensing plunger 11 which has a flat top flush with the surface 12 of the slideway. Handle 9 may have a detent at 29 to enter registration depressions 30 in body '1.

The head or fingerpiece 11x of the plunger abuts a spring 13 which in turn engages the front wall of body member 1. The plunger also is formed with an opening 14 for mercury, and when .the plunger is moved inwardly to full position, the opening 14 will be brought into registration with the mercury dispensing chamber 5. A cover 4x may be provided for the tablet stack holder.

In order to control the amount of mercury dispensed from the mercury chamber 5, the rear end of plunger 1 1 is formed with a longitudinal passageway to receive a control stub 15 in register with mercury passageway 14 in the plunger. This pin is normally moved outwardly by a spring 16 so that it abuts a cam 17 fixed to a shaft 18 carried by a finger operated dial 19. The dial is provided with indicia which may be brought into registration with a pointer at 20, on the plunger 11, so that in accordance with the position of the indicia the pin may be "ice moved inwardly or retracted a predetermined degree. In FIGS. 4 and 6, the pin is shown as projected a maximum degree Within the opening 14 of the plunger.

To enable the use of dental alloy tablets of greater or less thickness in accordance with their grain volume, the body member 1 is vertically formed with a passageway 31 adapted to be brought into registration with an opening at 10 in plunger 11, as shown more particularly in FIGS. 4 and 6. This vertical bore receives an adjustable tablet control-member 21. A coil spring 22 has its lower end engaging an abutment plate 23 secured to the body member 1, the top of the spring engaging the shoulder carried by control member 21. The lower end of member 21 is pivoted by pivot stud 24- to a cam arrangement 25. In the present case, two cam faces are used, one on each side of control member 21, but a single cam will suffice. In the embodiment, the cam arrangement is connected to a fingerpicce at 26 so that it may be rotated relatively to abutment 23.

In FIGS. 4 and 6, it may be considered that the dental alloy tablets 27 have the maximum thickness for which the adjustment is provided, and hence the control member has been pulled down to its maximum degree. Manifestly, should no adjustment be provided for a tablet of lesser thickness in the stack holder, the tablet above and contacting with that in the plunger would extend down- Wardly a certain distance below the top surface of the plunger, and upon the inward movement of the plunger said overlying tablet would be crushed. In current pract-ice, the tablets may be of 4, 5 or 6 grains, and hence corresponding-1y different thickness. In the use of a tablet of minimum thickness, say 4 grains, fingerpiece 26 of the cam arrangement 25 will be placed in the full line position, FIG. 2, and thus spring 22 will be permitted to hold the control member 21 in its highest position.

For a tablet of maximum thickness, cam fingerpiece 26 will be moved to dotted line position a of that figure, throwing cam assembly 26 into major action. For a tablet of intermediate thickness, the fingerpiece 26 will be moved to dotted line position b, FIG. 2.

In the case of minimum and intermediate thickness of tablets, the top of said control member 21 will project slightly into the opening 10 in the plunger, but inasmuch as said top surface is bevelled, inward projection of plunger 11 will merely bring its engagement with the slightly projecting bevelled top of the control member and the latter will be depressed, while at the same time the tablet overlying that being ejected will be kept out of line with the plunger.

Having described my invention, what (I desire and claim to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. A dispenser for dental alloys and mercury comprising a unitary molded plastic body member with a vertically extending container section at the rear thereof, the container section being chambered for reception of mercury, and the body member having a slideway and a plunger-receiving passageway transversely of the slideway, a tablet holder, for a plurality of stacks of tablets, adjustably mounted in said slideway, a plunger in the said passageway of the body member and having an opening for reception of tablets from the tablet holder and also a mercury receiving opening for registration with the mercury chamber, a longitudinal passageway being formed in the plunger and in communication wit-h its mercury receiving opening, a spring engaged stud in said plunger longitudinal passageway, means carried by the plunger for endwise adjustment of the stud into the said mercury receiving opening of the plunger, said last named means comprising a rotary dial, a shaft carried by the plunger and on which the dial is carried and a cam carried by the shaft and engaging said stud, said cam Patented Apr. 14, 1964iv being operated by -the dial, a tablet control member extending upwardly in a passageway formed vertically in the body member and adapted for registration with the tablet-receiving aperture of the plunger, and means for adjusting the vertical position of the tablet control member both in and out of said last named aperture.

2. A dispenser for dental alloys and mercury constructed in accordance with claim 1, in which the tablet control member is a rod formed with a head and with a shoulder below the head, an abutment at the lower end of the passageway wall for said control member in the body member, a spring in the said passageway and engaging said abutment and also the shoulder of the rod, and a cam member pivoted to the exposed end of the rod and engaging said abutment.

,3. A dispenser for dental alloy tablets and mercury constructed in accordance with claim 1, in combination with means for compensating, relative to the receiving passageway of the plunger, for tablets having different thicknesses, said means consisting of a control member adapted to be projected into said tablet receiving passageway, and means for moving said control member into and out of the said tablet passageway, said last named means comprising an abutment carried by the body member, a spring engaging the control member and urging it toward said tablet-receiving passageway of the plunger, and an operating means engaging said control member and said abutment and adapted to be manually moved for moving the control member against the action of said spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. l1,98& Gray May 13, 1902 502,596 Suddoth Aug. 1, 1893 780,680 Peterson et al. Ian. 24, 1905 1,286,881 Gray Dec. 3, 1918 1,516,942 Wise Nov. 25, 1924 1,605,832 Garhart Nov. 2, 1926 2,670,878 Curry Mar. 2, 1954 2,935,198 Kryzer et al. May 3, 1960 3,040,934 Weiner June 26, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 757,435 Great Britain Sept. 19, 1956 

1. A DISPENSER FOR DENTAL ALLOYS AND MERCURY COMPRISING A UNITARY MOLDED PLASTIC BODY MEMBER WITH A VERTICALLY EXTENDING CONTAINER SECTION AT THE REAR THEREOF, THE CONTAINER SECTION BEING CHAMBERED FOR RECEPTION OF MERCURY, AND THE BODY MEMBER HAVING A SLIDEWAY AND A PLUNGER-RECEIVING PASSAGEWAY TRANSVERSELY OF THE SLIDEWAY, A TABLET HOLDER, FOR A PLURALITY OF STACKS OF TABLETS, ADJUSTABLY MOUNTED IN SAID SLIDEWAY, A PLUNGER IN THE SAID PASSAGEWAY OF THE BODY MEMBER AND HAVING AN OPENING FOR RECEPTION OF TABLETS FROM THE TABLET HOLDER AND ALSO A MERCURY RECEIVING OPENING FOR REGISTRATION WITH THE MERCURY CHAMBER, A LONGITUDINAL PASSAGEWAY BEING FORMED IN THE PLUNGER AND IN COMMUNICATION WITH ITS MERCURY RECEIVING OPENING, A SPRING ENGAGED STUD IN SAID PLUNGER LONGITUDINAL PASSAGEWAY, MEANS CARRIED BY THE PLUNGER FOR ENDWISE ADJUSTMENT OF THE STUD INTO THE SAID MERCURY RECEIVING OPENING OF THE PLUNGER, SAID LAST NAMED MEANS COMPRISING A ROTARY DIAL, A SHAFT CARRIED BY THE PLUNGER AND ON WHICH THE DIAL IS CARRIED AND A CAM CARRIED BY THE SHAFT AND ENGAGING SAID STUD, SAID CAM BEING OPERATED BY THE DIAL, A TABLET CONTROL MEMBER EXTENDING UPWARDLY IN A PASSAGEWAY FORMED VERTICALLY IN THE BODY MEMBER AND ADAPTED FOR REGISTRATION WITH THE TABLET-RECEIVING APERTURE OF THE PLUNGER, AND MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE VERTICAL POSITION OF THE TABLET CONTROL MEMBER BOTH IN AND OUT OF SAID LAST NAMED APERTURE. 